Main Navigation

The Top Manuka Honeys on Amazon.com

Hundreds of manuka honey products are offered on Amazon.com in the USA. Which are the most popular? Which are the best?

Rigorous government testing and labelling rules apply in New Zealand where genuine manuka honey is produced, but not all honey products marketed in the USA meet those standards. More than a few honey labels show ‘marketing ratings’, which can make it confusing to the uninitiated.

This list of the top manuka honeys on Amazon is intended to make sense of it all, to help you choose the right manuka honey and to know you are getting quality and value for your dollar.

The most important factor when appraising the value of a manuka honey is the honey’s concentration of ‘manuka goodness’, which is measured by UMF or by MGO, methylglyoxal concentration. Without a UMF or MGO rating it is difficult to know whether a honey is genuine manuka, or a lower-grade blend.

In the table below where a dash is shown for the UMF or MGO rating, those honeys would be considered table honey, not high-grade manuka honey, regardless of what might be claimed or implied on the labels.

We’ve used the honey bestseller list from Amazon’s Grocery department to identify the most popular New Zealand manuka honeys on Amazon.com, and we’ve organised the list by the recognised UMF and MG/MGO manuka honey ratings, from highest to lowest grade. The price guide shown is an indication of the Amazon price per 250g jar (8.8 oz).

Probably a low-grade honey blend as it carries no rating of methylglyoxal concentration. The 'Bio Active' wording on the label would be illegal in New Zealand.

$14

Genuine high-grade manuka honey, UMF 10+ and above, is in limited supply. If you find a manuka honey with a high rating number on the label at a lower price than an equivalent UMF-rated honey, be skeptical about what might really be in the jar.

Be especially skeptical if the label mentions the terms ‘Active’, ‘Bio-Active’ or ‘Activity’, as these terms are not used on genuine manuka honey produced in New Zealand.

15 Responses to The Top Manuka Honeys on Amazon.com

Can you please tell me if the Rowse Manuka honey NPA rating of 10+ certified is a good quality honey as i want to use this as a healing agent as my two 2 year old Shih Tzus have stomach issues ie Stomache Reflux (Bile) and some times diahorrea, i i would prefer to use the correct honey rather than wasting my money by using the wrong one.
Many Thanks
Jan Claus

Although Rowse is not a New Zealand honey producer, and the terms “NPA” and “non-peroxide activity” have not been allowed to be used on New Zealand manuka honey since 2014, the information on Rowse’s website suggests that their honey is tested for methylglyoxal and that Rowse supports the UMF association approach, which is good.

Chances are that your jar of Rowse NPA 10+ honey is legitimate and will be similar in potency to a UMF 10+ honey or an MGO 260 honey. On the fine print of your honey label look for the MGO or methylglyoxal content of your honey.

In general honeys with UMF ratings are the best option because the UMF certification process tests for more than just methylglyoxal content and includes tests for other marker compounds that assure genuine, unadulterated manuka honey.

New Zealand government rules have explicitly prohibited the use of words such as “active” and “bio active” on honey labels since 2014. If your Manuka Doctor honey includes any of those terms, it would be illegal for it to be sold in New Zealand.

If it was high grade manuka honey its label would instead show a UMF rating, which would certify its content of MGO, leptosperin and other natural chemical markers of genuine manuka honey, or at least its MGO content would be listed.

By my observation, Manuka Doctor honey disappeared from New Zealand retail store shelves some years ago. The New Zealand Manuka Doctor webstore (http://www.manukadoctor.co.nz/) does not sell honey.

The Manuka Doctor USA webstore (http://www.manukadoctor.com/manuka-honey.html) does sell honey. Regarding its honey rating it states, “TA Active is a commonly used rating system that predominantly measures the naturally occurring peroxide activity in honey.” That is not true in New Zealand, where it would be illegal to use the word ‘Active’ on a honey label. Furthermore, while total peroxide activity is sometimes used to grade non-manuka honeys, it is not an appropriate measure for manuka honey. The scientific research into manuka honey’s special properties focuses on NON-peroxide activity.

UMF ratings and MGO content are comparable measures of non-peroxide activity which is one of the important characteristics that makes manuka honey special. Total activity ratings are largely irrelevant.

In summary, despite claiming to be New Zealand manuka honey, Manuka Doctor honey is apparently not sold in New Zealand, its labels would not be legal under New Zealand regulations, and it uses a grading system inappropriate for high-grade manuka honey.

What about bio UMF 15+ honey sold on Amazon and other places? It contains the UMF logo and rating, but also says bio-active. The label also says packaged with care in USA then lists a company and address. I believe this to be the real deal. I think because this one (and likely others) are repackaged for the U.S. they can therefore say things that would be illegal in NZ.

If the honey’s label carries the UMF logo there should also be a UMF licence number mentioned, and you can check that number on the list of members on the UMF honey association website http://www.umf.org.nz/umf-members/

Hi Just reading the comments as i am too trying to use honey for healing purposes and i have been purchasing the manuka doctor honey 24+ Active manuka honey from holland and barret health stores in scotland and decided to check out the labels etc as i was looking at trying the Nelson honey which has 30+ mg/kg i was unsure about what they mean.. I am feeling so unsure i just want the best honey possible and can i dont know much about the brands in scotland as i am a NZ’er and find it hard to find so i went to a health store?

Your Manuka Doctor 24+ appears in the table above, with the comment, “Probably a low-grade honey blend as it carries no rating of methylglyoxal concentration. The ‘Bio Active’ wording on the label would be illegal in New Zealand.” Last time I looked at a Manuka Doctor honey jar label it said the rating was based on ‘total activity’, which is effectively meaningless for manuka honey and banned in New Zealand.

The Nelson Honey with 30mg/kg methylglyoxal wouldn’t qualify for a UMF rating, it’d be well below UMF 5+ in strength.

May I suggest you try our MGO to UMF calculator so that you can gauge the equivalence of honeys you’re considering purchasing.

If you’re after genuine manuka honey with good potency, my recommendation is to look for the registered UMF logo and a UMF rating of 10+ or higher, or a methylglyoxal content of at least 250mg/kg.

Hi I was searching about manuka honey when I came across your website. Would you be able to check if rapanui bees premium manuka honey mg300+ is one of the high-grade honeys you mentioned? Thank you very much in advance!

Drin, If your Rapanui honey has a methylglyoxal content of 300 mg/kg then it would be equivalent more or less to a UMF 10+ manuka honey, although without the extra testing and auditing that goes with a UMF rating.